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Citizen Advocacy Center Citizen Initiative Award 2001 Recipients

 

Ms. Marget Hamilton of Wheaton, IL!

Marget Hamilton became a citizen activist in 1940 when she, along with friends from the League of Women Voters, protested the fact that the children of Japanese American citizens were not being allowed to swim in the Barrington pool. In 1955, after she moved her family to Wheaton, she started the Wheaton Chapter of the League of Women Voters and helped change the Wheaton form of government from Commission to Council Manager.

Mrs. Hamilton was Wheaton's first woman candidate for Council Manager and in 1959 won the seat. Among her many accomplishments in government service, she was instrumental in drafting and adopting in 1967, Wheaton's Fair Housing Ordinance, the first of its kind in Illinois. She served as Mayor of Wheaton in 1969 and was the head of the DuPage Mayors and Managers conference in 1970.

Since Mrs. Hamilton's retirement in 1971 she has: organized and directed the office of the DuPage County ACLU, served on the Board of Directors of the DuPage County Legal Services Foundation, and is the director of the College of DuPage Older Adult Institute. The Institute now serves 10,000 people every year.

Dr. Wendy Morris, Bolingbrook, IL!

In the words of Dr. Morris' nominator, "Wendy is a one-woman tour de force." She received her doctorate from the University of Illinois and she was nominated for her outstanding work in the fight against racism, homophobia, anti-semitism and other forms of discrimination. Dr. Morris understands that fighting hate is central to building democracy.

As a member of DuPage Voices for Racial Justice and the DuPage County Unity Coalition, Dr. Morris has helped to organize anti-racist sentiment in DuPage County. Working with these organizations and others, she took the initiative and established a Rapid Response Network that can respond quickly to hate crimes. She has not only worked tirelessly herself, she has inspired others to get up, get out, and get active in their communities.